Like a Pheonix
by ocbitch
Summary: After realising that her realtionship with Logan is better off over, Max is feeling a little down. a certain someone makes it his task to help her move on. M/A
1. Chapter 1

This is the first fanfic I have ever written. Any mistakes are mine and I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative to help me! This is M/A because I am just obsessed with them, I can't believe that they never did that on the show, just wrong!!! Hope you enjoy 

Also not to sure about ratings yet but I think it will be an Fiction Rating M

P.S this isn't a one shot ( obviously ) hoping to have chapter 2 up soon! Please R&R

Disclaimer: please don't sue me I am just borrowing you creations for mine, and hopefully others, enjoyment. I own nothing especially JA/Alec : (

Like a Pheonix

Chapter one

"I just, I can't do this anymore Logan. Constantly be around you knowing that I could kill you if I sneeze in the wrong direction or trip onto you."

"Well really Max how often do you trip"

Logan was trying to add a little lightness to the conversation, Max new it, but this was not the right time at all. She was serious about this and had to make him see that this is what was for the best for him. But there was a small part of her that was doing this for herself too, I mean how long can a girl subject herself to a doomed relationship filled with heartache, angst and guilt. It was just too much for her to keep going on with, she couldn't take it anymore.

She didn't, however, want to tell Logan that because it wasn't his fault that everything had gotten so screwed up but if he knew how she really felt she knew he would take it that way. But it seemed, with the way he just wasn't getting this that she may have to eventually tell him, but not until she knew she had no choice. For now she would keep trying to get through to him.

Logan, this is serious and you know it, why can't you just let go. I leave, tell you we're over and you call or I end up back here and we go back right where we started, with you in danger." He looked hurt at that, and she realised that the way she had said that made it seem like she was blaming him.

"Logan I didn't mean it that way, this isn't your fault it's just how am I supposed to walk away if you don't let me go?"

"Max, I can"t just let you walk away, let you give up like this, we will find the cure and then we can be together" The look on his face gave no question as to the fact that he truly believed in what he was saying. _'arggh , well you knew this wasn't going to be easy!'_ she thought to herself.

"I'm not giving up on anything. If we found the cure that would be amazing we could have dates, and dance and kiss and all the things a 'normal' couple gets to do" she said, emphasising the world normal "but until then we aren't a normal couple are we? If we ever find the cure then I will get it, I'll risk my life for it, but - until then - do we really keep doing this, being around each other knowing what could happen. Knowing that we can't have what it is that we really want, putting your life in danger?"

"Max..." Logan started, but she cut in.

"All the pain and the guilt and frustration of not being able to touch without you keeling over on me. It isn't fair Logan, not to you and not to me!"

He looked at her then with a face that made her want to just run right outta there, sighed and said "Well I'm sorry that I've been such a burden to you" and looked away, back towards his computers.

At that she snapped "OH FOR GODS SAKE LOGAN" His head turned back around to her with a look of pure surprise at her outburst but she didn't have the willpower left to feel bad about startling him. This needed to be said, now!  
"This isn't just about you" She said, aware that she was shouting at a volume that was not necessary given that he was about two meters from her, but continued non the less "I get that this is hard for you , I do and I'm sorry but it's hard on me too why can't you see that. You may be willing to risk dying but I am not willing to risk being the one that kills you. If you loved me at all then you would let me do this, let me leave and spare me all of this pain!" and with that she turned and walked away, out of the penthouse.

She had left for three reasons, one, she didn't want to see that hurt look in his eyes, two she didn't want him to see the tears brimming in her eyes and three she had to leave now if she wanted some time on the needle ( desperately needed time ) before she had to go meet the guys at crash like she had promised. So she hopped on her baby and headed towards the edge of sector three, towards the space needle, towards peace of mind.

**Reviews welcome!!!!!!!!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here it is, chapter 2. I was worried that I would lose inspiration but as it turns out I can't do anything else cos I wanna finish this so bad! 

A/N: By the way I have no idea yet as to the timeline of this episode except that it is in S2. Maybe after another chapter or two I will come up with an appropriate time for this story to take place. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. : )

Disclaimer: I own Nothin' at all!!!!!

Chapter 2

Walking into Crash didn't lift her spirits as it usually does. Something about the smell of alcohol and sweat lingered with the loud beat of the music in the hip bar usually reached out to the laidback party girl that she used to be. But not tonight.

As she made her way down the stairs, making out the faces of a few people she recognised and many that she didn't, she contemplated how much she had changed from that girl. She had a more solid view on the concept of responsibility now . Her guilt and anger at everything that had happened since the destruction of Manticore, The transgenics being out and the danger they where in, Logan and the virus and all the other crap that just kept coming, had really started to bear down on her.

Ordering a beer from the bar she scanned the room and found her guys, her closest friends sitting at their usual table in the back. After paying for her beer she made her way over to the table in the hopes that her friends would be able to take her mind off of ... Well everything really!

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Alec had sensed her the moment she had walked in, he always kept tabs of who was coming and going, a throw back to his Manticore training days. As he felt her approach the table from the bar he could practically smell the waves of sadness and depression coming off of her and took a wild guess that it had something to do with Logan.

_'you know I like the guy but he can be a real ass sometimes making Max feel like this'_ he thought bitterly. Oh well he would just have to focus on making her laugh, and if that didn't work he was always good at pissing her off! He would settle for anything ( even an ass kicking by an angry X5 female) to see her loose the gloomy depressed look on her face right now, he hated seeing her this way.

As she sat down she gave half-hearted greetings to him, OC and sketchy, took a sip of beer and then proceeded to stare at the amber liquid as though it contained the secrets of the universe.

_'oh no this just will not do!!'_ "Hey Maxie" he said, purposefully using the nickname that he knew annoyed her, and wasn't disappointed.

"Don't call me Maxie!" she said with a great deal of vehemence on the last word

OC took on best friend duty then "You ok boo?"

"Yeah, just ... Ya know, I'm fine" she casually said the fragmented sentence with a flippant wave of her hand.

"Mmm-Mmm" Was all OC had to say to that.

Max looked up with an expression that Alec could only attribute to desperate determination and said "you know what, I don't wanna talk about, I don't wanna think about it, I just wanna drink hang out with you guys and try to have fun! Tomorrows problems can wait till tomorrow." As she said it Alec could tell that she meant, if not completely believed, her words.

Scetchy looked up from the pool game he had been observing "hey man that's how I live my life!"

"Yeah but you a fool" OC stated with a wave of her hand, attempting to waft away the smell of the drunk 'fools' breath

Alec let out a small chuckle at the sight of his friends and then looked back to Max "This is a new turn for you, aren't you usually all about the 'doing things the hard way, oh woe-is-me attitude'?"

Expecting a glare or a scowl, insult or even a smack he was surprised to see her flash a small smile before saying "Not tonight my man" followed by her downing her glass of beer and heading back to the bar with the pitcher glass and a shout of "my round" over her shoulder.

All Alec could do was sit there amazed and largely happy at Max's new attitude. _'This could be interesting!_'

**Short I know, I'll try to make them longer.**

**Please R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N I do recall mentioning something about longer chapters but unfortunately that hasn't come into effect quite yet. Actually this, Max being drunk was incredibly hard to right…. Which given how often I drink it really shouldn't have been! Lol. But here it is anyway

Any mistakes are mine alone cos i'm useless! :(

Disclaimer: do I have to say that I don't own them it makes me sad!!

Chapter 3

"Don't forget the blush" Alec managed to squeeze out between giggles and received an indignant look from an equally hysterical OC.

"You don't think Original Cindy knows that boy"

"Sorry!"

For the past 5-10 minutes they had been applying makeup to an unconscious Sketchy and where barley able to keep from poking him in the eye with mascara 'cos they just couldn't stop laughing.

"All done" said OC sitting back to fully enjoy her work " Better watch out pretty boy, looks like you got some competition" she stated with a smirk

"OC that hurts" holding up his hand to his heart and putting on his best puppy dog eyes

"That look may work on other girls but you ain't havin no affect on me boo"

"Well maybe if you gimme a ch….." Alec didn't have time to finish his smart ass comeback as Sketchy let out a big groan and sat up, it took all the will power Alec and OC had not to burst out laughing at the sight of a made up Sketchy looking around, disoriented and confused " Hey where's Max with the beer? " slurred as it was, Sketchy's question did bring to light that Max had been gone for like twenty minutes

"Yeah, where the hell is she?" Alec wondered out loud

OC looked around and responded "Is that her slumped at the bar?"

Alec followed OC's line of sight and he did indeed see the petite brunette sat on a stool at the bar with half her body strewn across it , looking like she was sleeping " What the hell is she doing?" was all that he could think to ask

"I don't know but maybe you should go check on her cos Original Cindy's not sure she could stand straight at the moment"

And that was the first time that Alec noticed that OC had drank almost as much as sketchy had

"Yeah I'll go check on her you just… stay, alright, don't move or you know, operate heavy machinery." and with that he turned to go check on max.

"Max, you alright?" she really did look to be sleeping until she lifted her head from her arms and stated, very loudly, "ALEC!!, you're HEEEEERE!!"

'_Holy crap she's drunk, I've never seen Max drunk…..interesting' _

"Hey Max little drunk are ya" Alec said, trying to hold onto his amusement at the sight of her failing to blow a strand of hair out of her face. "Nooooooooooooo" she drug out the word for about 5 seconds, then she tilted her head to one side as if contemplating something and then shrugged and held up her hand, her fingers indicating a small measurement " Maybe a _little_" she said whispering the last word as though anyone in the bar could possibly not have known she was wasted.

At that Mike the bartender came up and said " Yeah well with 13 double shots and 4 beers in the last 15 minutes I would think she would be" he gave Alec an appologetic smile and moved back off down the bar.

"yeah…How about I take you home" Alec said, not really making it a question.

She gave him a strange look and then sputtered " I May be a little drunk but not enough to be another notch on your bed post you pig" and with that Alec lost all self control and burst out laughing. " Max I meant your home, ya know to bed to sleep it off ….. Alone!" he could barely get the sentence out because of giggles " I don't wanna" she whined, chuckling he thought _' Drunk Max is funny' _but that thought was immediately counteracted by _' yeah but she could also get herself into a lot of trouble too' _and with that he lifted her off the stool while she made a tiny squeal of protest at being manhandled

" Sorry Max but you'll thank me in the morning" She began hitting his back weakly from her perch above his shoulder so he put her back on the ground and said " okay but your only staying down if you agree to come with me without a fight okay!"

Max crossed her arms, jutted out a hip, exhaled an angry breath and proceeded to attempt to stare Alec down. However the only response this warranted from him was a barely contained chuckle at her drunken sulking.

"Alright then!" and with that he moved forward as thought to grab her again and but she jumped backwards and screamed " no, no okay I'll come … you ass." he was about to put on a mock hurt face but he saw that she was about to stumble while taking a step forward so he reached out and snaked an arm quickly around her waist and steadied her on her feet before her head had the chance to smack against the bar.

While he was busy trying not to notice the sudden closeness of their bodies she, very unhelpfully , tilted her head upwards so that there noses where practically grazing and said " thanks" The breathy voice she spoke in did nothing to settle his every growing libido and he focused on the fact that this was Max and she was drunk, it was a drunk Max and he couldn't afford to lose focus now. She was his friend and she needed help, he was not the type of guy who took advantage of these kind of situations.

so he lifted her a few inches off the ground and settled her back down on the ground, steadying her firmly on her feet. As he took his arm from around her he felt the sudden loss of the contact but not of the loss of warmth as Max had yet to move away. She simply stared into his eyes with a look he couldn't quite determine. There faces where so close that he could taste her breath and he tried not to notice the effect that had on him. but all thoughts came to a stop when she spoke next " your so pretty! "

He stared at her incredulously, so caught up in the weirdness that was the inebriated Max that he failed to notice the person approaching their position at the bar until they spoke

" hey,….. what's going on?"

**Please R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

I am really sorry about the massive delay in posting this but my stupid broadband provider cut me off becouse of one single little unpaid bill! oh well at least it gave me time to finish this chapter and get most of the way throught the next one too, so I should be quicker next time. : )

this was very hard to write but i got through it!

Disclaimer: i don't own anything, how could I, I couldn't even afford the internet!!

_He stared at her incredulously, so caught up in the weirdness that was the inebriated Max that he failed to notice the person approaching their position at the bar until they spoke_

" _hey,__…__.. what__'__s going on?__"_

Alec moved away from Max so fast that for a moment he thought he might fall but luckily his feline DNA saved him at the last moment and he was spared embarrassment.

Spinning around he came face to face with the owner of the voice that had interrupted them and realised that he should probably speak

"Logan buddy hey how are ya?" he was trying to act casual and like he hadn't just been caught compromisingly close to the guys 'girlfriend'.

"Alec" to say the guys response was terse would be an understatement, infact the all mighty Eyes Only was giving him a look that could freeze lava.

Behind him he heard max grunt with frustration, as he looked around to see what was bothering her she answered his question with her own

"Logan what are you doing here I broke up with you remember!" she said with no small amount of vehemence in her voice. This shocked Alec but at the same time it made everything else a little clearer, the change in attitude, the drinking. '_So it's over again huh?'_

Logan was looking at Max with something akin to shock and said incredulously "Max, are you … drunk?" the only response he got was a very unlady-like snort and a clumsy flipping of her hair over her shoulder. Taking this as a confirmation he turned and gave Alec the dirtiest look he had ever seen.

" How could you get her in this state, don't you care about her at all I thought you where her friend?"

Alec stared at Logan for a good 6 seconds before finally finding his voice " _Excuse me?_ GET her? Okay first of all I didn't get her like anything I found her this way, secondly she is a big girl and if she wants to get wasted well then that really is her choice.." Logan opened his mouth to speak again probably to find some way to make this all his fault so Alec interrupted with what he considered to be the most important point of all ".. AND third of all if anyone got her this way, it's you!"

Looking at him, Alec had to make a great effort not to laugh as he witnessed what was probably the only time in his life that Logan was speechless.

Max's voice interrupted the awkward silence when she said "I don't feel good" her body swaying to even further convey her point "Alec can you take me home?" ignoring the fact that he had already offered to take her home he held out his hand to offer support to her and replied "Sure Maxie, come on" but Alec was stopped short by Logan's raised hand blocking their exit " Whoa, you really think I'm gonna let you take her home like this? I'll do it."

Logan was starting to raise Alec's hackles '_who does this guy think he's kidding?'_ so even though he knew it was cruel he decided to play a little with the guy who was constantly making the woman he loved….. No cared about…. No considered his friend (_there ya go!)_ feel like crap " oh okay, sure buddy here ya are" he said offering max's hand to Logan knowing full well that he couldn't take it., and he noticed Logan's obvious hesitation

" Oh that's right the virus well seeing as how Max can't walk on her own right now" he said, ignoring Max's indignant growl he continued " And you can't touch her without dropping dead how about I just take care of her huh?" Alec knew that he was pushing it with Logan and if Max remembered any of this tomorrow she was likely to kick his ass but he just couldn't care. As far as he was concerned Logan was the one responsible for Max's little emotional breakdown.

"Max?" Logan's voice came out in a desperate plea which was followed by max's voice, surprisingly, in the same tone "Alec!?"

He recognised the fact that she was begging him to take her away and be damned if he could refuse Max.

"Sure" he whispered gently and proceeded to walk out of the bar with her leaving a very stunned looking Logan at the bar alone, cursing the day Max ever met Alec.

--

Outside crash Max and Alec where a scene indeed, with him trying to keep her upright and her constant insistence that she could do it herself.

"Max if I let you go you are gonna fall flat on your ass, is that what you want?"

" I can walk by my damn self Alec!"

He just chuckled at her spirit, even when she was loaded she was feisty! And she was sexy when she was pissed. '_whoa back up Alec you know that that train of thought will only end badly__'_

"Whatever you say" he said cockily, he would admit only to himself that he was slightly enjoying having the upper hand for a change when dealing with Max. She snorted for about the 10th time that night and simply said "shut up"

Chuckling he made his way over to Max's Ninja holding her the entire time.

After he had finally managed to convince Max that she couldn't drive and co-ersed her onto the back of her bike Alec hopped on himself and tried but ultimately failed to suppress the excited smile from creeping onto his face, he was finally going to get a go on Max's 'Baby'. He craned his head around and made sure that Max was still sat securely on the back, driving her home through two sectors was going to be difficult to say the least, not to mention dangerous

"Max you have to be careful not to let go of me when we're driving okay!"

He heard her chortle behind his back and say "Well duh!"

Smiling he gunned the engine and took off the entire time keeping a conscious check on max's arms around him, her falling off and cracking her skull open was hardly a desirable ending to this evening, chaotic as it has already been.

**I realise that I made Logan a bit off an as in this chapter but he is still a bit sore from the brake up and just reacted badly. I have no intention of making this a Logan bashing fic so please don't flame me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sooo sorry this took so long but I had a lot of stuff going on lately and this is the first chance I got to post. But I did manage to make it longer so Yay me!**

**Disclaimer: Maybe if someone sends me a genie I wont have to write disclaimers any more becouse they will be mine! Hahahahaha **

**Chapter 5**

A loud bang echoed through the previously silent apartment as Alec, supporting a tipsy Max, collided with the front door. After a lot of fumbling with the lock they finally managed to gain entry.

" Alright well that was fun " remarked Alec with sarcasm as he tried to coerce Max through the door. Unfortunately the ride home had failed to sober her up and, with her growing tired, Alec was having more and more trouble helping her walk.

"Where are we going?" Max slurred as she looked around, her blurry vision obviously keeping her from identifying her surroundings.

Alec let out a sigh at having to answer that question for the 20th time tonight "We're at your apartment and you are going to bed."

"I don't want to go to bed I was having fun. Come on I thought you where like Mr Fun."

He HAD to laugh at that, of all the things Max had said tonight that was without a doubt the funniest yet.

"Yeah well even Mr Fun knows when enough is enough and you have definitely had enough Missy miss"

_God I sound like Normal _he thought to himself as he manhandled her towards the bedroom

And apparently Max agreed "Pfft you sound like Normal"

Still smiling he decided to take the situation more fully into his hands, literally, as he swept her knees out from under her with his spare hand and carried her the rest of the way into the bedroom.

Ignoring her insistent protests he stopped at the side of the bed and dropped her unmercifully onto the bed and smirked at her shocked squeal at the fall

"You jackass" Max said as she weakly tried to punch him…. and missed

"Now is that anyway to talk to a friend who's helping you out huh?" He replied, enjoying himself WAY to much. She just scowled up at him from the bed but decided not to engage and instead proceeded to attempt to take her boots off, unsuccessfully. Kneeling down he helped her out of her boot's and followed it with her jacket and bike gloves. He then eased her head onto the pillow.

"Okay you need anything else?" he asked while taking in her appearance. Her hair was windblown and knotted from the bike ride and being carried. Her skin was slightly pale and covered with goose-bumps, seeing this Alec reached for a blanket that was slung over a nearby chair and tucked her in.

"Why are you being so damn nice to me?" She asked with a suspicious glint in her eyes.

Staring at her for a few seconds he finally answered "What I can't just help out a friend without having some hidden agenda?" He was serious and he could feel the sincerity reflecting in his own eyes but of course because of her drunken state she failed to see it and answered him in a harsh tone

" Past experience would seem to prove that you in-fact can't, no." Alec couldn't help but be impressed '_How does she manage to be so damn articulate even when she was smashed' _But instead of saying anything he just gave a small chuckle and made his way into the kitchen where he filled up a glass with water for her, he also spent a good 3 minutes searching the cupboards, eventually finding some aspirin. They wouldn't work that well in the 'normal' doses but, in the morning when she felt like he guessed she would, he knew she would figure that out and take a few more.

Carrying the supplies back in he really _really _expected her to be out cold but instead he was met with a pair of sparkling brown eyes following his movements.

"I thought you left." Max said in an uncharacteristically small voice

"Na, your not getting rid of me that easily" he smirked down at her and tried to ignore the strange look that she was giving him but as she continued to stare after he put her stuff on the bedside table he gave in and asked

"What? He was starting to become uncomfortable under her close, and as of yet unexplained, scrutiny.

"Alec …. Can I ask you something kinda ….Erm …. Delicate?"

She wasn't looking at him anymore instead she was twiddling with a lose piece of fabric on the blanket

'_O.K now I'm scared'_ He said silently to himself, even intoxicated, a shy Max couldn't be a good sign

"Suuure" he said slowly, making clear his uncertainty of the situation.

"Without you making some smart-ass comment or teasing me about it for the rest of your life" she asked rolling her eyes and looking back up at him.

His only response was to raise his eyebrows in a "Well go on then" gesture

She cleared her throat and looked back down and whispered so softly he barely heard her " Will you help me move on"

His eyebrows knotted in confusion at what she said. What did she mean by that, the possibilities of her request raced through his mind and he was trying to make sense of all of them when he looked at her and realised that he hadn't spoken since she said that

'_Okay just say something… anything'_ " Wha… Erm… Huh?"

'_Oh, yeah that was - great, well done. '_

Max, having seen his reaction let out a heavy sigh and turned around, facing away from him

"You know what never mind"

"No wait Max, I just… I don't know what you mean, how can **I** help you move on?"

Alec had no idea how it happened, one second was looking at him the next her whole body was pressed against his and she was kissing him feverently. Shock flooded Alec's mind and in the place of functioning brain-power instinct took over and he started kissing her back. His hands - Entirely of their own accord of course - Started to roam across her back. However the loud moan that she released as he gently stroked her tongue with his snapped him out of the haze and he realised what he was doing, he was taking advantage of Max. Even if she wasn't drunk, desperation to move on from the man that she really loved was not exactly the motivation Alec wanted for something to happen between them '_not that the idea of me and Max like that has ever entered my mind' _He thought quickly.

Pulling back as fast as he could he couldn't stop the irrational surge of male pride he felt when she let out a tiny moan of disappointment at the loss of contact. Pushing that aside, far aside, he tried to placate Max

"Whoa whoa Max look I know this thing with you and Logan sucks but this is so not the way to go, especially not right now"

Max had been staring at the bed since about 5 seconds after he pulled away and at his words she burst into tears. Alec's eyes widened. Drunk Max he could handle, Bitchy Max he could handle hell even handle her throwing herself at him in desperation but crying Max …. DAMN he was lost

"Erm, hey come on I can't be that bad I mean …You know….. You still got your health right?" he said with a goofy smile trying to make her laugh but it just made her cry harder. _'Oh boy'_

She looked up at him with tear filled eyes and said " I'm sorry I just feel trapped in this big loop with Logan, he keeps calling and I keep going back because I can't damn well say no and we just end up back where we started and it hurts." His heart almost broke at seeing the lost puppy look in her moist eyes " It hurts all the time and I just want it to stop" The last part of that statement was more of a sob than a word and Alec leaned down and wrapped his arms around her shaking form " Shh, It'll be okay" he was desperately trying to make her feel better but when she pulled away from him slightly he saw in her eyes that he was as of yet unsuccessful.

Not knowing what to do he did the thing he usually did when he was drawing a blank, he asked.

"Max what do you need?" he asked you know other than what we just talked about

" Just, forget all of this happened okay" As she said this she slumped back down on the bed and rolled herself up in the blanket, closing her eyes. He felt a pang at her forlorn features and wondered if he had handled the situation as best as he could.

Going along with what she was asking was not even an option, he couldn't stand to loose her friendship over some decision that she was in no fit state to be making. But was there any other way to help her right now?

"Max?" He whispered so quietly he wasn't sure she would hear him but when she opened her eyes again to look up at him he realised he had her attention and continued " Please tell me some way…. Some other way, I can help." Good god since when had he taken to begging women to allow him to help them. _It's Max, she does this to me … Damn her!_

She closed her eyes for a second then opened to reveal them moist with fresh tears and said " Just help me move on, get past this"

Glad to finally have some clear cut orders ( He was a soldier after all ) he smiled and assured her " Sure Maxie " he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead as she finally began to fall asleep and whispered " I promise"

**Please Review!!**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is a really short chapter because it is just a section of the story that needs to be out of the way in order to move on to the next part. which by the way i hope to have up soon since my writers block seems to have gone bye bye! Yay!

**Disclaimer**: They don't belong to me okay, happy now!?

CHAPTER 6

After ensuring that Max had fallen asleep Alec rubbed his eyes with clenched hands and stood, feeling just how tired he himself was. As he turned to leave the room he was startled to see Cindy stood in the doorway with a bemused expression on her face.

"Holy crap!" He said just a little too loud, after hearing Max stir but not wake he lowered his voice and asked her " How long have you been stood there?" He was amazed that she had managed to sneak up on him like that and realised that the situation with Max had thrown him more than he thought. _Bad soldier._

"Since my boo threw herself at you and you surprised the hell outta me by being a gentleman" She said with a massive smirk adorning her features. At first Alec smiled at what his tired mind had taken as a compliment but as he had more time to process what she had said he realised that it had been anything but. "Hey what do you mean I surprised you, I'm a gentleman" he stated the towering embodiment of indignation.

Cindy's smirk simply grew as she replied "Whatever" But Alec didn't have the will to argue so he grudgingly let it go.

" Well anyway I'm gonna head home, when she wakes up she is gonna feel like crap so just make sure she takes the Asprin but she needs a lot more that it says on the bottle okay?"

" And just where are you planning on going at this hour in the pouring rain? Didn't you leave your bike at Crash?" Cindy said with a raised eyebrow. Looking out the window he noticed that it had started raining during the time he had been in the apartment and he had indeed left his bike at the bar. Scratching the back of his head he mumbled a "Yeah" as he contemplated how unpleasant it would be to walk the 3 sectors back to his apartment when Cindy said "Why don't you sleep on the couch?"

"You sure" He asked thinking that Max probably wouldn't be too happy about that

"It's the least I can do after you took care of my girl like that" she said smiling a small, warm smile at him. With a deep breath he agreed, walked over to the couch and plopped down with an exaggerated grunt before kicking off his shoes.

"Well OC is going to bed, night boo." and with that she walked into her section of the apartment and closed the big curtain partitioning off the area.

Laying down on the tattered couch and covering himself with a blanket he thought about tonight and Max but mostly about the promise he had made. Any other time, any other promise and any other person and he would have just dismissed it a drunken memory to be forgotten but when she asked him to help her, he knew that it was Max asking, it was her who truly wanted to move on and in her drunken state had actually been smart enough to ask for help, his help. He also knew that she needed to move on because her relationship with Logan was unhealthy, for her as much as him.

So he would help, he would dedicate himself for however long it took. He made it his mission, and if there was one thing that even leaving Manticore couldn't change it was that 494 always gave his all on missions.

He fell asleep that night with a smile on his face as he planned for tomorrow.

**Reviews appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: None of these awesome characters are mine, I just like to play.

A/N: I am soooo sorry it took so long to update but the Flu is a harsh master, demands a lot of your time and energy so I plead forgiveness!!! This chapter has a LOT of POV changes and repeated information but I really wanted to try and get both Max and Alec's thoughts on the night before. It won't always be written like this.

A/N 2: It has come to my attention that, Though I reply to as many as I can, I have neglected to properly thank you all for the reviews you leave. I really hope you don't take it as a sign that I don't appreciate them because I do. They are the only things that keep me going when I hit a dead end. I am just an eternal scatter brain and just keep forgetting to mention it. So to all reviewers I say a hardy

Thank You!!!!!!!

**Chapter 7**

The world hummed in an annoyingly high pitched tone and the sunlight picked today to shine through her window directly into her sensitive eyes and for the millionth time in her life Max cursed the world. Rolling over onto her back she put a hand to her sore head and let out a small groan at the discomfort she felt. She couldn't believe that she had, for one brief minute thought that drinking as much as humanly ( or transgenically ) possible would be the solutions to her problems, it had been a spur of the moment decision that she was now living to heavily regret. How much must she have drank, it certainly took a lot for an X5 to get wasted and she was sure she had been because she could barely remember how she got home. Something about Logan, her bike and …. Alec?

"OH MY GOD" screamed max as she bolted upright, and regretted it instantly. The room spun on it's axis, her head throbbed and caused a whooshing sound in her ears and she was pretty sure that at some point today she was gonna hurl but right now none of that mattered because SHE HAD KISSED ALEC!_ 'What the hell where you thinking?'_ she asked herself as some of the memories of the night came flooding back to her.

The worst thing was the way it happened. If she had simply kissed him in a drunken delusion that she actually wanted him then fair enough, she'd be pissed but she'd get over it. But for the love of the Blue Lady she had practically begged!

When a sudden thought occurred to her she was overcome with fear because as vividly she could remember the kiss and what she had said to him she couldn't remember what happened after that_ ' What the hell is up with that?'_ her mind screamed desperately. With her eyes squeezed shut to postpone what she was afraid to see she turned to the side of her in the bed and forced her eyes open and with a sigh of tremendous relief saw that not only was the spot next to her undisturbed but she also appeared to be fully dressed. _'Oh thank you. Thank you'_ A silent message sent up to the heavens. Grabbing the bottle of Asprin and the water that had magically appeared on her nightstand, she swung her legs off the bed and headed for the living room _'Maybe a nice hot cup of coffee will make things clearer'._

* * *

Alec stretched contentedly on the couch, smiling lazily as he slept. Subconsciously basking in the warmth of the morning light. In the peace of his dreams he replayed one moment over and over in his mind, one moment that he was sure even a whole year of Psy-ops would never be able to erase from his memories. Just as things with dream-Max was about to go a lot further than it did last night he was suddenly startled awake by a loud shout from her room. He was initially alarmed, concerned that she might be in danger but as he heard no other suspicious sounds coming from the apartment he attested that she had simply remembered last night, and for some reason that brought on a rather self-satisfied smirk from Alec as he plopped himself back onto the couch and waited for the fireworks to fly.

* * *

As Max opened her bedroom door she was hit with a sudden brightness as the living room 'curtains' where open allowing in all of that cursed sunlight_ 'Of all the days Seattle chooses to be sunny it picks the day I'm hung-over'_ squeezing her eyes shut again she confidently strode blind over to the counter. Plonking her self down on a stool she swallowed a fist full of Asprin with the water. Thankfully, with her juiced up metabolism her hang-over wouldn't last more than a few hours.

Putting her head in her hands she thought about the morning she was going to have avoiding Logan who was undoubtedly going to call her. Avoiding Alec shouldn't be too hard given that she didn't have work today, it being a Saturday. Opening her eyes and getting up to make coffee, that happy thought was destroyed by the chipper little "Morning Maxie" that came from behind her. For a solid 20 seconds Max was just frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights before slowly turning to see Alec sprawled across her couch smiling at her. That grin made her want to wipe it off, even more than usual, what in hell did he have to be so damn happy about?

" What the hell are you doing here?" she asked Scowling at him.

He stretched his arms above his head and answered easily "Well after I drove you back on your bike it started raining and I **do** live 3 sectors away"

She was about to yell at him that she already knew all that but then a thought occurred to her _' He thinks I don't remember.'_ This could work to her advantage, if she didn't remember the kiss then it never happened right? But the question was would Alec go along with it or would he be his usual smart-ass self about it. She decided to test him

"Oh, then what happened" she asked wondering if she had made her voice sound just a little too innocent.

* * *

Alec was trying really hard not to laugh at Max's attempt at acting like she didn't remember. A big part of him really wanted to rub it in her face when she asked him, just a little too innocently, what had happened but for some reason he didn't. After the kiss and his whole night spent dreaming about it, he guessed he was finding it harder and harder to deny his feelings for Max and thus found it harder to treat her like he didn't care.

_-" Just, forget all of this happened okay?"-_

He remembered her asking that and knew he couldn't deny her

So he chose the high road for once. If Max wanted to pretend that it hadn't happened then he would play along

" And then I put you in bed, you went to sleep, Cindy came home and suggested I take the couch." he finished with a little smile, not a cheeky or deceptive one, a genuine honest smile.

* * *

Max narrowed her eyes for a moment, waiting for Alec to take the opportunity to make fun of her or rub her face in it but it never came. _'What if he is keeping quiet because more happened last night than you think'_ she thought as the realisation that she still didn't remember everything.

But until she remembered everything she would take whatever peace she could get so she let it go with a small "Mmm" and turned around. Just as she was reaching into the cabinet to get the coffee she heard noise coming from the other room and knew Cindy was awake

" Hey girl want some coffee?"

"Sure Boo" shouted her roommate from her partitioned area

"I would also like some coffee Maxie thank you." Alec said sarcastically from behind her.

She was momentarily surprised that he had managed to walk up behind her without her noticing but put that aside to make way for annoyance

"I'll bet you would and for the last time stop calling me Maxie!" She growled exasperated

" Aw come on Maxie we both know that won't be the last time"

Turning around she attempted to stare him down and his only response was to grin at her cockily. Unfortunately the way he looked when he did that brought on a flashback from last night

_-"Your so pretty!"-_

_'Oh dear GOD'_ she thought as her whole face turned to shock as she realised that she had actually said that to Alec.

* * *

Alec was enjoying their pleasant return to common banter when Max's whole face suddenly changed and she turned pretty pale.

"Maxie" not even realising that he had called her by the very nickname they had been arguing about he tenderly reached his hand toward her arm, trying to snap her back to reality. For a second he thought she was going to barf but as soon as his hand made contact with her warm skin she pulled away and stuttered " What, Nothing … I'm fine just…. shut up" She immediately turned around and continued making coffee leaving Alec to wonder what had gotten into her.

"Ooookay"

Turning, he took up residence in the stool that Max had vacated and eagerly awaited the coffee that he could really use a cup of right about now. Just then Cindy came into the kitchen in cosy looking PJ's and a scarf tying back her curls

"Good morning Kiddies" OC greeted warmly only to be met with a grumble from Max and a half-hearted wave from Alec.

"Or not" she mumbled quietly taking a seat on the stool next to Alec and wrapped her hands around the hot cup Max had placed in front of her and took a careful sip.

* * *

Sliding a cup of hot liquid in front of Alec she looked up to see him give her a small smile of thanks and drink his coffee, a little fast given how hot it was, and wondered what had him so quiet. He was undoubtedly thinking of all the fun ways he could torture her with memories of the night before. Sighing in trepidationshe sipped her own beverage and contemplated how she would get herself out of this new mess she had managed to get herself into

* * *

Drinking his coffee just a little too fast Alec, oblivious to Max's thoughts, was in a rush to go. Not because of the underlying tension in the atmosphere but because he had things to do.

Suppressing a smile he thought of last night when he had been trying to get to sleep. He had made plans for today and how he would proceed with his 'mission'. They didn't have to worry about work as it was the weekend so he had lots of time to implement his plans but only if he started right away.

With that thought in mind he quickly drained the last of his coffee, stood up and threw his jacket on.

"Well ladies I better get moving. Lots to do"

With that he gave a little wink to Max which did nothing but make her frown. Smiling he headed for the door and opened it.

Turning in the doorway he faced Max and said

"I'll be back to pick you up in an hour okay"

Looking at him strangely she replied "It's Saturday moron, no work today"

He smiled and said "Oh I know. But I have a promise to keep" still smiling as he exited the apartment he shouted back

"Be ready, we don't have time to be running late"

Max stood staring at the now closed door and asked blankly "What promise?"

Turning to a grinning Cindy she asked again desperately "What Promise!?!"

**Reviews always appreciated**


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Wow 2 years. I am soooo sorry. I had college and work and this just completely fell through the cracks. It started when I lost my muse but given how easily this chapter came to me (I had to make my self stop to get up in the morning :P) And writing another one-shot for The Big Bang Theory today I'd say my muse is back. I am aiming to have another chapter up by next chapter is kinda short but it is just to try and get the story on it's track. Hope you like this :D

Like a Pheonix Chapter 8

As Alec stepped out of his apartment building, freshly showered and refreshed, he allowed a second to bask in the rare sunlight before shaking himself back to the task at hand. Getting Max out of her spiral of misery. Hopping on his bike he mentally ran through his plans for the morning. Stop by Terminal City to collect a few supplies and let the guys know that they would be away for a few days then he had to pick up a few fake sector passes to allow them passage out of Seattle. But first things first, convincing Max to go along with him on a weekend away without asking for too many details so that he can keep it a surprise '_Piece of cake' _he thought to himself with a sigh. He was plagued with doubts, would what he had planned really do anything? Would Max be pissed? Was it worth it? Before realizing that the answer to all those questions - especially the second one - was a hearty yes.

He took his cell phone after only a moment of hesitation he dialed Max.

"_What did you mean? What promise?"_

"Well hello to you too Max?"

"_Alec, it's not nice to take advantage of people with amnesia"_

"HA, you don't have amnesia you where wasted"

"_Whatever, same diff. Answer my question"_

"Not the same. And .. I promised to help you with something"

"_What?"_

"Well now that would ruin the surprise wouldn't it"

"_Alec I swear to god…"_

"Relax, it's nothing too bad. We just gotta go away for a few days"

"_I'm not going anywhere with you"_

"Well then I guess you'll never know then will you"

"_Know what?"_

"What I promised you, What I had planned, If it would be something you might not want to miss"

"…_..I hate you, you know that right?"_

"Yep, Be ready to go in 45 mins. Warmish clothes, something fancy and something stealthy"

"_Why?"_

"…."

"_Alec?"_

"…."

"_ALEC!"_

"Hehehehe ……{click}

* * *

Alec took note of the calm atmosphere when he entered TC and was grateful for it. All he needed was for some big emergency to crop up and ruin the weekend.

Reaching the bottom step the loud "Medium Fella!" that greeted him brought a smile to his face even through the grimace of pain brought on by his sensitive hearing being shaken by the big guy's bellow. But he pushed that aside for now to ask "Hey buddy, how are things?"

Joshua nodded his head vigorously and said "Everything fine here, where's little fella?"

Alec smirked "Probably sleeping it off" but regretted saying that when he looked to Josh's confused expression. He didn't want to go around telling people about Max's little bender so when Josh asked what she was sleeping off he simply replied "nothing, man I was just kidding, hey ya seen Biggs?"

Josh easily played into his ploy to change the subject and let the matter go in favor of telling him that Biggs was in the armory with Mole, nice, two birds with one stone.

"Great, Listen big fella me and Max are heading out for a few day's" Josh looked extremely curious - in a way only he could - when he asked why "Just a trip, you know, she's been a little down lately figured I'd try to cheer her up."

He was shooting for casual, wasn't really sure of he was hitting it. From the look Josh gave him he didn't think he was. "You are good friend, Alec, Max will see that. One day"

Whoa, where had that come from. Shook a little by the turn the conversation had taken he offered Josh a little pat on the shoulder and a insincere "Here's hoping" That was in reality a lot more sincere than he would like anyone to know before heading to the armory in search of a less personal conversation.

As he reached the armory he realized he got what he wanted as he caught the tail end of a conversation between Bigg's and Mole about which weapon , the LR 300 or the M-96 , was better. Personally he preferred the Colt M4 Corbine especially mounted with the PAQ-4 and - _'Damn it Alec your not here to talk about guns!' _

Shaking back his focus he opened the door to greet "Hello ladies" then smiled at the stink faces the met him with, he also noticed on the table the folder he needed.

"Just wanted to let you know that, if all things go well, me and Max should be outta town for a few days, gonna need you to take care of this place"

Removing the cigar from his move Mole smarmed "Ah the lovebirds are going on their honeymoon while the rest of us stay here and work, aint that sweet?" Alec just glared at him. "We're not 'love birds' and we're not going on a freaking vacation."

Shrugging he turned to Biggs and said easily "Figured we'd pull that job you found the other day" Both Mole and Biggs where looking at him like he was nuts. Biggs spoke up "You mean that job that you turned down because there was no way in hell you where gonna be able to convince Max to do it? That job?" Nodding his head he offered a simple "Yup"

Stunned Biggs asked "How'd ya talk her round?" Alec exhaled as he picked up the folder containing a brief on the heist that Biggs had gave him the other day. "I haven't quite done that yet, she doesn't know where we're going" Mole was impressed " Now how did you pull THAT off? Would have been easier convincing to do the job" Alec smirked shamelessly and simply said "I've got my ways."

Looking skeptical Biggs offered Alec good luck.

As he got outside he looked over the folder in his hands and sighed. The security in the casino, the amount of surveillance, not to mention the owners rather impressive record as a world class bad-ass, all of it added up to a nearly impossible job. But if done right, there was a chance they could come away with the biggest score they where ever likely to come across. _'Couple of million at least, keep TC in chips and beer for a long time'. As long as he didn't let Max get a clue on what this heist was until absolutely necessary then it should be fine. After all, who in TC was more qualified to pull this off than them?_

* * *

"_If you don't start talking, I swear to god I will beat the answers out of you" _

"_Wow Max first that warm greeting over the phone and now this, careful your making me all tingly inside." _

_With a grunt Max stepped away from the door and allowed Alec access to the apartment. As he stepped inside he was thrilled and a little surprised to see a rucksack packed on the table and Max dressed ready for travel. Not without a teasing hilt to his voice he asked "Ready to go?" and decided to take the vicious scowl he received in return as a yes. "Alright let's his the road" He bellowed cheerily as he passed her. _

"_Where?"_

"…_."_

"_Alec you're gonna die very soon, I swear"_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Took me a little longer to get this out because of my stoopid computer but I finally got it! Thanks for the reviews they keep me going :D

Like a Pheonix Chapter 9

'_Man, I haven't felt this good in ages' _Max thought to herself as the scenery flew past her. The wind in her hair was so relaxing. She just didn't get to cruise along at speeds like this in the streets of the city. But out in the open, it was damn near heaven.

Of course she would in no way credit Alec with this refreshing outcome. They had been travelling for hours now and during none of the pit-stops they had taken would he divulge more information about his trip, he was _infuriating. _

At the beginning of the morning after Alec had called her she certainly had no intention whatsoever to actually go anywhere with him, not in the least because she still didn't know all of what had happened the previous night. However she had learned from Cindy that nothing more happened and it was all down to Alec who was apparently the _'Prefect Gentleman' _huh yeah right.

As ludicrous as it may seem for Alec to think of anyone other than himself much less turn down sex, she really couldn't imagine Cindy lying, especially not about anything like this, and she had seemed pretty damn sure.

The other aspect of her distrust of this plan was her general distrust of Alec and any of his shady schemes, another thing Cindy had helped convince her to put aside. So, regardless of her better judgement, here she was, riding through Idaho on her way to an unknown destination.

Taking a quick look at her watch she was surprised to see how long they had actually being driving, time sure flies. And a glance at her fuel gauge showed her to be pretty low. She was just about to signal Alec when he indicated her attention towards a sign reading 'Curtis Road'. She signalled back her approval. Just had to hope he knew where he was going and that they had enough fuel.

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to a little ramshackle off the side of the road and pulled into the drive. The sign read 'Pam's Diner'. Like hell was she eating in this crap-house. The 'building' itself was what looked like a bizarre mutation of 2 large aluminium trailers welded together at the sides to made it big enough to house a few tables. There was grime everywhere, inside too from what she could see through the windows.

"You really think they'll have gas here?" she asked with skepticism. In response he simply turned a smug smirk her way and replied "You really think I'd plan a cross country trip without a clear and precise plan, I'm a soldier Max" and he finished his sentence with a little 'tut,tut' that made her want to jump over the bikes and throttle his smart-ass little neck. Instead she just plastered on an exaggerated smile and said "Well okay then!" and stormed in ahead of him.

Once inside she noted that the place wasn't quite as disgusting as in had appeared outside but it was still pretty nasty. However she would aquiess to eating here as she was quite hungry. "I'm gonna get some food, you get the gas. What do you want?"

Alec took a few seconds to consider before settling on a bacon cheeseburger and a piece of pie. So she ordered, getting for herself a cheeseburger and a milkshake while Alec got a beer with his.

When Alec returned they sat down and ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't and uncomfortable silence in the least, just 2 people enjoying the surprisingly good food.

When the silence was broken it was by Max to ask the same question she had asked at least 50 times already "Alec where the hell are we going?" And to her frustration Alec just chuckled shook his head and carried on eating. She slammed down her fork and "Ugh"ed at him. And still, he just kept on eating.

Why was he being like this, why couldn't he just tell her where the HELL they where going. She understood deep down that maybe she was over-reacting a little but the only thing she hated more than not remembering for herself all of what happened last night was the fact that now, because Alec had decided to be an ass, she didn't know what was going to happen tonight either, and it was just too much damn uncertainty.

"You ready to head back out?"

Alec's voice broke her out of her reverie and she was surprised to see that he had finished eating and had put on his jacket. Looking at her plate she just had a few fries left and they where the more greasy of the pile so she decided to leave them and replied "Yeah" and rose to leave.

Stood by the bikes Alec was filling the tanks with the gas he had gotten from the owner while Max fell into her own thoughts again.

Why was Alec doing this? Even if she had asked him to do something along these lines why was he actually going through with it, the cost alone would put someone off, let alone the long hours driving.

What was in it for him?

That was the question she couldn't get out of her head, she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for some sign that Alec was planning this whole trip thing as a way to get something he wanted and that he had just tried to trick her into believing it was something for her.

Maybe it would help if he actually told her _why_ it was for her what he thought she would get out of this _'Why the hell can't you just tell me what the damn promise was ?'_

When she looked up she saw that Alec was looking at her with an indescribable look on his face, after a few moment's he said "Alright, you made me promise that I would help you get away from it all, to get over it"

Max didn't know what shocked her more, the fact that she had talked to Alec about Logan (She had no doubt that that was the problem she had asked him to help her get over), That he had actually told her without her even having to ask or the fact that he was standing before her now looking for all the world as though her expected her to beat the crap out of him. Why for finally telling her the truth?

"Why did you tell me that" she asked still a little stunned. But now Alec looked confused "You asked me too"

Had she said that outload? What now she had lost so much of her mind she just blurts out her thoughts without even realising she had done it. However through that particular bit of confusion she decided on another

"Wait a second I've asked you that at least 10 times in the past day and you haven't answered. Why now?"

He seemed to consider something for a second before just answering "Just cos" hopping on his bike and setting off.

Max meanwhile stood next to her bike for a good minute and a half before defeatedly muttering to her self "God I hate you" and following after him into the evening


End file.
